ANIMAL HEALTH:Flu surveillance should be increased in both humans and animals now that the H1N1 virus strain has infected pigs in Canada, a World Health Organisation official said yesterday.
WHO food safety scientist Peter Ben Embarek stressed there was no recommendation to cull any pigs anywhere in the world as a result of the virus, and said that well-cooked pork and pork products remained safe for consumption.
“It is not a food-borne disease,” he told a Geneva news conference, while calling on veterinarians, farm staff and slaughterhouse workers to take precautions when handling live animals to avoid spreading or catching the new strain.
“Trading meat, whether processed or raw or frozen meat, should not be restricted because there is virtually no risk of transmission that way,” he said.
“You might have a risk with the live animals or when slaughtering it, but on the other side, as soon as you are dealing with the final product there is no big risk.”
Canadian health officials said on Saturday that a swine herd in the western province of Alberta apparently caught the virus from a carpenter who had travelled to Mexico, the epicentre of a swine flu outbreak that has spread to 19 countries.
It was the first time the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had reported a case of the virus being transmitted from a human to a pig in Canada.
“It’s rare but we have said from the beginning of this flu outbreak that this might happen,” said Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer at the Food and Agriculture Organisation, a UN agency.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the infected herd was quarantined pending more testing and the chance the pigs could transfer the virus to humans was remote.
It said all the infected pigs had recovered or were recovering.
“Since that has happened once, it could also happen again,” Ben Embarek said of the pig infection, which he said may require people in contact with animals to wear protective gear.
“We have to take the measures to avoid unnecessary exposure of humans to sick animals, he said.
Earlier yesterday, the United Nations food agency in Rome said the Canadian case gave cause for concern and confirmed the need for increased surveillance of pig farms.
Against WHO advice, some countries have restricted imports of US pigs and pork, and Egypt has ordered the slaughter of its entire pig herd of 300,000 to 400,000 animals.
WHO food safety scientist Ben Embarek said that although the virus had not appeared to mutate as it moved to pigs in Canada, it needed to be closely watched in case the strain became more dangerous as it spread in all populations. – (Reuters)